Abstract
Previous studies in the field of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) training have shown that this training has the potential to enhance a wide variety of cognitive abilities. It can also generate specific changes in brain structure and function. However, there is lack of studies investigating the impact of AMC training on the characteristics of brain networks. In this study, utilizing graph-based network analysis, we compared topological properties of brain functional networks between an AMC group and a matched control group. Relative to the control group, the AMC group exhibited higher nodal degrees in bilateral calcarine sulcus and increased local efficiency in bilateral superior occipital gyrus and right cuneus. The AMC group also showed higher nodal local efficiency in right fusiform gyrus, which was associated with better math ability. However, no relationship was significant in the control group. These findings provide evidence that long-term AMC training may improve information processing efficiency in visual-spatial related regions, which extend our understanding of training plasticity at the brain network level.
Highlights
As is well known, training can result in improvements in various cognitive skills[1]
We hypothesized that abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) training might affect the organization of human brain network represented by topological alterations, especially in brain regions related to visual-spatial function, such as fusiform gyrus
For the global network properties, there was no significant difference between AMC and control group in normalized clustering coefficient (AMC(AUC): 0.099 ± 0.008; control(AUC): 0.099 ± 0.007) and normalized shortest path length (AMC(AUC): 0.060 ± 0.002; control(AUC): 0.060 ± 0.001)
Summary
As is well known, training can result in improvements in various cognitive skills[1]. These studies indicated that brain network analysis could provide a complete view of the characteristics of brain connectivity and additional information about connectivity in specific neural systems Based on these findings, we hypothesized that AMC training might affect the organization of human brain network represented by topological alterations, especially in brain regions related to visual-spatial function, such as fusiform gyrus. We hypothesized that AMC training might affect the organization of human brain network represented by topological alterations, especially in brain regions related to visual-spatial function, such as fusiform gyrus To test these hypothesis, we recruited 72 children with AMC experience and 72 matched control children without any knowledge of abacus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effect of AMC training on brain plasticity at the network organization level
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